While Greta Gerwig's 'Barbie' film set several box office records, it faced scrutiny from some who believed that it portrays anti-man feminism
Elon Musk is seeing red over Greta Gerwig’s pink-colored feminist satire “Barbie.”
The billionaire CEO of Twitter weighed in on the hit comedy,
tweeting Monday: “It you take a shot every time Barbie says the word
‘patriarchy’, you will pass out before the movie ends.”
Musk, 52, was responding to a movie-themed meme poking fun
at his recent decision to change Twitter’s blue bird logo to “X.”
The Tesla founder echoed the words of conservative
commentator Ben Shapiro, who likewise took issue with the frequent use of the word
“patriarchy” in “Barbie.”
Shapiro first complained last week about the number of times
“patriarchy” was uttered in the film.
“All you need to know about #BarbieTheMovie is that it
unironically uses the word ‘patriarchy’ more than 10 times,” Shapiro whined on
Twitter last week.
The right-wing columnist also shared a video of himself
throwing Barbie dolls on a grill and setting them on fire.
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s wife, Ginger, went so
far as to call for a boycott of “Barbie.”
“The 2023 Barbie movie, unfortunately, neglects to address
any notion of faith or family, and tries to normalize the idea that men and
women can’t collaborate positively (yuck),” Ginger Gaetz tweeted, adding, “I
really wanted to enjoy it, but ended up feeling let down.”
The film follows “Stereotypical Barbie,” played by Margot
Robbie, as she tries to make sense of feminism and patriarchy after leaving
plastic Barbieland and venturing into the real world to resolve her unexpected
existential crisis.
Despite Musk, Shapiro and Ginger Gaetz’s finger-wagging,
“Barbie”– one half of the “Barbenheimer” movie-going phenomenon — went on to
make history with an eye-popping $162 million opening weekend in North America.
It you take a shot every time Barbie says the word "patriarchy", you will pass out before the movie ends
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 24, 2023
Not only did “Barbie,” starring Robbie and Ryan Gosling,
break the opening weekend record for 2023 — and post the biggest domestic
opening for a non-superhero film or sequel — but it also shattered the first
weekend record for a film directed by a woman.
Christopher Nolan’s epic “Oppenheimer,” helmed by Cillian
Murphy as the “Father of the Atomic Bomb” J. Robert Oppenheimer, came in a
distant second, raking in a still-impressive $82 million from 3,610 theaters in
the US and Canada.